[Tom '74 911]

I have a Miller 180 MIG machine and a Miller Dynasty 400 TIG machine. I would loudly echo 962porsche's comment and say that TIG is not the way to go if it's your only welder. TIG is also MUCH more of an acquired/learned skill. A decent MIG machine is a point and shoot affair - you can learn enough to join 2 pieces of metal together in 15 minutes. Get one w/gas for sure, not just flux core wire. Being able to adjust wire speed and Amps independently is really nice. I find that I use the settings chart on the welder as a starting point, but typically end up making adjustments after running a few test beads. My 180 MIG machine has the "AutoSet" feature, but I never use it as it never seems quite right to me.

If you can find someone to spend 30 minutes with you to show you the ropes and get you going with a few basic tips, you'll be years ahead. YouTube videos are great, but there is no substitute for an experienced, in-person teacher.

If you're mostly doing thin sheetmetal & materials, you don't need the biggest, baddest, highest Amp welder. A smaller one will likely do just as good a job if not better as you will only be using the low end of the Amp range anyway. The one caveat to that is that some of the cheaper welder's low range isn't low enough to work as easily on really thin sheetmetal. I think this is probably more applicable to TIG machines than MIG machines though.

You will never regret buying a nice welder, but I can guarantee you will curse a crappy one every time you use it...

Tom